Mar 17, 2012

WonderCon 2012: Bigfoot's Forest Warlord

On Friday afternoon The artists known as Bigfoot dropped by the Kuso Vinyl booth to sign for fans, offer a few choice prints, and showcase his new vinyl toy, the Forest Warlord. The final production sample of the new large toy looks quite good with the paint complimenting the nicely textured sculpt. If you missed the STRANGEco versions from way back when, this new figure will be hard to pass up. Keep an eye out for it.

Jan 28, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll is Live -- Vote Now

The Vinly Artist Poll is now live, go vote for the artist you'd most like to see work in vinyl. The poll lives down on the right-hand side column of VP. For the past two weeks we've featured profiles of each of the ten artists in the poll. With any luck the profiles have served as a helpful introduction to some of the artists you were not familiar with. If you missed any of the profiles just click on the artist's name in the poll to bring up their profile with samples of their art. Or you can check out all the profiles in one shot.It bears repeating that this project was all about our curiosity of seeing what you wanted to see done in vinyl -- strictly for fun. Vinyl Pulse would like to thank Clay C. for the idea and the follow-through grunt work to make it happen.

Jan 25, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll - WON ABC

This is the tenth and last of ten artist profiles we're presenting as we lead up to our Vinyl Artist Poll
in which we'll ask you to vote for the artist you'd most like to see
work in vinyl. The poll is strictly for fun and to get a read on what
you like art wise. Click on each of the paintings to read a description of the piece by the artist. The poll goes live this coming Monday -- so be sure to check it out and voice your opinion.

“I was born in ’67. As my eyez opened I saw the bright light of the world. Something happened that would make me follow the guiding light forever. Delivered into this beautiful sick world, a VIRUZ in the ward contaminated my brain. First of all the VIRUZ was weak and solitary, but HE gathered power as I grew. As soon as I was able to speak he introduced himself to me: ‘I am your CRIMINAL VIRUZ running through your veins – chilling comfortably in the director’s chair with a TV, plugging into your brain receptors just like I need. Connecting some and disconnecting others, I’m gonna replicate throughout your body.” That said and done the VIRUZ began to reproduce itself, at first I wasn’t sure for what. More and more he contaminated my thoughts and emotions, but it was good like that. It happened with no pain or rage. I felt fine. My only question was where the CRIMINAL element entered into the scheme. Back then I didn’t understand why he didn’t discuss it, he just commanded me. If I didn’t do it voluntarily HE would alter some of my brain receptors so that I did. That’s how I came to steal cans, tagging and painting trains day and night, smearing outlines on kilos of paper, throwing up color onto anything that caught my eyz. Building up my own cosmos, trying not to be caught up in the system, giving me the right to shit on public property so I could cover the world with a 0.1 millimeter coat of colour. Without question the CRIMINAL VIRUZ commanded me. … Dedicated to all colour kamikazes who without asking contaminate the world with the colour virus. Paint-armed rebelz forever.”

WON was born in Germany, but he has apparently not slowed down since – His web site (one of the most creative artist sites we encountered), shows projects ranging from a Sri Lankan prison and jitneys (tuctucs), to Guantanamo, to Polish trains, Carhartt ads and Central American BBQ chicken shacks.

Jan 24, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll - Chet Zar

This is the ninth of ten artist profiles we're presenting as we lead up to our Vinyl Artist Poll
in which we'll ask you to vote for the artist you'd most like to see
work in vinyl. The poll is strictly for fun and to get a read on what
you like art wise. Click on each of the paintings to read a description of the piece by the artist.

“I was born on november 12th, 1967, in San Pedro, California. My interest in art began at an early age. the first thing I can remember drawing was a turtle at age 3. My mother, who is the reason I have gotten to where I am today, always encouraged and supported me in this area. I remember one time I asked her if it was o.k. to draw something (I don't remember what) and she told me "You can draw anything you want".”-- That was very liberating. It seems that as far back as I can remember, I had always wanted to be an artist. I used to imagine what it would be like to be in my very own studio, painting whatever I wanted.

My interest in scary things began early as well. I remember watching "Night Of The Living Dead,” fresh out of the bathtub and sitting directly in front of the TV in my tighty whities. something about it was fascinating as well as terrifying. I could not turn away. I think I felt some kind of connection to it, due to the fact that my family was slowly beginning to fall apart around this time. There was a lot of fighting, not a lot of communication, and I really didn't know why. It was then that I began to immerse myself in art, often drawing monsters with bloody knives, carrying bloody heads, you know, those sorts of things. It somehow made me feel better.”

Chet has been married to his soul mate Lisa for 13 years and they have two kids. He worked as lead designer and sculptor at Alterian Studios for ten years, including work on The Blob and Darkman. He also did the animation for Tool’s live shows, and currently works at Cinovation Studios in addition to painting.

Jan 23, 2008

Vinyl Artist Profile - Chris Ryniak

This is the eighth of ten artist profiles we're presenting as we lead up to our Vinyl Artist Poll
in which we'll ask you to vote for the artist you'd most like to see
work in vinyl. The poll is strictly for fun and to get a read on what
you like art wise. Click on each of the paintings to read a description of the piece by the artist.

Chris Ryniak was born as a baby in 1976 in the suburbs of Detroit. He spent his childhood basking in the warm glow of Saturday morning cartoons and flipping over rocks in search of insects, reptiles and ghosts.

Years later...

A graduate and former instructor of the Ringling School of Art and Design, he is now a painter and sculptor of all manner of critters. Chris' work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the US including Miami, Los Angeles and New York City, as well as Hamburg, Germany. His paintings have also been published in numerous books and periodicals in the States as well as in Europe and Singapore.

Chris now resides in a coastal Ohio Dutch Colonial with his wife, two children, dog, cat and Venus Flytrap. Sadly, no ghosts as of yet.

Jan 22, 2008

Vinyl Artist Profile - Robert Hardgrave

This is the seventh of ten artist profiles we're presenting as we lead up to our Vinyl Artist Poll
in which we'll ask you to vote for the artist you'd most like to see
work in vinyl. The poll is strictly for fun and to get a read on what
you like art wise. Click on each of the paintings to read a description of the piece by the artist.

“A self-developed artist,
Robert Hardgrave creates work both highly intricate and abundant with
personal symbols. Inspired by experiences from disease and recovery,
his paintings and drawings reflect ideas of reincarnation and the richness
of life beyond death.”

[Most ‘art vinyl’ is character-driven
– some are cute and some are horrific, but almost all feature characters
of some kind. We have included
‘Farmer Bob’ Hardgrave in this poll, not only because we appreciate his work, but because it seems that a greater acceptance of abstraction could lead to captivating new toy designs not dependent on the strength of the character design.
Some beautiful existing vinyl is virtually abstract [think of RealXHead’s
Chaos and Organ Bat figures, or Yamanaya’s Brume sculpt]. We
think Farmer Bob’s work might lend itself to more, and in any event,
we wanted to offer at least one abstract option for the poll.]

Jan 21, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll - Jason Jacenko

This is the sixth of ten artist profiles we're presenting as we lead up to our Vinyl Artist Poll
in which we'll ask you to vote for the artist you'd most like to see
work in vinyl. The poll is strictly for fun and to get a read on what
you like art wise. Click on each of the paintings to read a description of the piece by the artist.

As a working artist, I’ve honed my skills as a tattooist since the early 90’s, and this in turn has helped me develop a diverse style in my painting and a lot of other media, including sculpture and computer animation. When creating, I find I draw on all these skills to crwate something I’m happy with.

Painting has been something that I’ve been drawn to since a very early age -- As far as I can remember I’ve always been an artist, and art is something I’ve always found peace in doing. For me the process is an escape into a weird and wonderful world, where the impossible is possible – A place in which I can feel happy even on the darkest of days. Staying true to myself, I’ve found that it’s easy for these feelings to flow through to the viewers, giving them a brief glimpse into my world, and on the odd occasion a smile, too

Jan 18, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll - Tenmyouya Hisashi

This is the fifth of ten artist profiles we're presenting as we lead up to our Vinyl Artist Poll
in which we'll ask you to vote for the artist you'd most like to see
work in vinyl. The poll is strictly for fun and to get a read on what
you like art wise. Click on each of the paintings to read a description of the piece by the artist.

Tenmyouya Hisashi was born in Tokyo in 1966, and currently lives in Saitama, Japan. After initially working as an art director for a record company, he now makes his living painting. He has shown steadily since his first show in 1990 at age 24, including shows at the Whitney in New York and others in Tokyo, Berlin, London, Paris, Madrid, Kiev and Sao Paulo.

His deep knowledge of and respect for the ancient traditions of Japanese painting are apparent, but this respect is not mechanical – the work is supremely modern.

Jan 17, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll: Speto

This is the fourth of ten artist profiles we're presenting as we lead up to our Vinyl Artist Poll in which we'll ask you to vote for the artist you'd most like to see work in vinyl. The poll is strictly for fun and to get a read on what you like art wise.

"I was 14 years old when I first started to paint graffiti. My roots come from hip-hop, from the old school, from seeing films like Beat Street. And from skateboarding, which to me seemed to be all about fun, and being a free spirit. Skateboarding also led to a lot of innovation in graphic art, and encouraged us to play with techniques, to develop effortless flair. The good thing was that we did not have much information, which helped to build our style.

Brazil is a real mix of cultures, and I'm so blessed to have so many kinds of inspiration around me. Sao Paulo unites many people from Brazil and from around the world. With four million cars and 19 million inhabitants, it never stops. Legends and myths are a strong source of stimulation, as are cartoonists like Chico and illustrators like grilo, who have a very strong ironic style. I've also been greatly inspired by the Cordel poetry booklets that are sold in craft stalls in the countryside here. Everything I see influences me. I'm always searching for innocence or dignity in simple things and in people too.”

Jan 16, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll: Kevin Peterson

[Today we bring you the 3rd of 10 artists we're profiling as part of our Vinyl Artist Poll
project, which started this Monday. After all ten artists have been
profiled, we'll open the poll up for voting. This is strictly to gauge
peoples tastes and quite honestly for fun. For more info, please see
the introductory post.]

Born in San Diego in 1980, like all artists Kevin was influenced by his surroundings. The intricate finishing of Spanish architecture, lush California agriculture, Saturday morning cartoons, or eccentric family members, attention to detail, and a healthy cynical attitude has always fueled his work. Early on he amused himself by drawing from situations, positive or negative, to either diffuse or examine. Naturally curious and having a thirst for the abnormal, he began to read Surrealist literature and visit museums. Kevin related to the ideas of revolt through art preached by the Surrealists, and understood that most art movements were rebellions, reactions to social, political and religious ideologies. Along with these ideals, he was very much attracted to the ritualistic and therapeutic side of creativity. After graduating from the Laguna College of Art and Design with a BFA in illustration he began to devote all of his time to oil painting.

“Working in illustration, I realized early on that it forces
you to become a problem-solver. After
countless awkward positions and disappointments, I began to realize that I had
to relax and go with the flow of things to make them work. I hated using sketches and reference. I felt that they ruined the spontaneity of a painting, and provided a crutch that would be
detrimental to my process of free association. I guess I kind of felt that it took away from the mystery and importance
of my memories and the basic function of painting from my head. I feel that it is very important to exercise
the basic function of memory and keep it sharp. The more I paint, the more my focus lies in the process itself and the
ripening of an idea through happy accidents and subconscious urges. I never know what a piece will look like
until it is completed, which is the most exciting part of painting to me. More importantly, I believe that my job as an
artist is to act like an antenna that receives and negates information and
provide commentary on my surroundings in my own unique voice.”

Jan 15, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll - Dylan Sisson

Today we're presenting the 2nd of 10 artist profiles we're running as part of our Vinyl Artist Poll project, which started yesterday. After all ten artists have been profiled, we'll open the poll up for voting. This is strictly to gauge peoples tastes and quite honestly for fun. For more info, please see the introductory post. Dylan Sissonwww.dylansisson.com

Dylan Sisson was raised in Washougal in Washington State. He left Washougal to study typography,
printmaking and comic books. He
currently resides in San Francisco,
where he draws and paints wall-eyed curiosities with big teeth. His projects have ranged from the book arts
to animation to painting. His
independent animations have been screened in festivals on six of this planet’s
seven continents. His forays into
painting have led to various gallery showings peppered along the west
coast. Invariably, the subjects chosen
by Mr. Sisson are those things that are at once compelling and repugnant,
things that scribble outside of desire and disgust. Creepy cute.”

Jan 14, 2008

Vinyl Artist Poll - Intro and Kristian Olson Profile

One day on the phone almost a year ago, Clay C. (a regular contributor here at Vinyl Pulse) and I batted around this question – “What artist would you most like to see ‘do vinyl’?” Merely raising the question had each of us immediately naming artists of whom the other had not heard, and led to many happy hours of discovery for us both. Clay first proposed we turned the question into a reader's poll project. Both of us thought that any single person's selection of artists would likely be too idiosyncratic, too personal. VP agreed to participate, and this poll is the combined effort of Clay and the VP editorial staff. Of course we hadn’t really considered the labor involved … so after an absurdly long period of gestation, we’re finally ready to get this project rolling. Before reviewing the process of selecting artists for the poll, here’s a brief summary of what’s about to go down.

For the next two weeks, VP will present one artist each weekday – ten artists in all. We’ll provide you with a short bio/profile where possible (usually copied directly from the artists’ websites), some samples of their art, and a link to more of their work. We tried to select samples that are reasonably representative of each artist’s broader body of work, but we do strongly encourage you to check out the links – not only to cast an informed vote, but because we think you’ll be very pleasantly surprised by all of the superb work out there – we certainly were.

After all ten artists have been profiled, we’ll start the poll. The question which will be presented to you is: “Which of these ten artists would you most like to see work in vinyl?” We are not asking you to select any specific piece you’d like to see realized in 3D … the question is intended more to find which artist’s style, which overall aesthetic sensibility, you’d like to see tried out in art toys.

Now the process of crafting the poll, primarily of selecting the artists for inclusion. This was not without its own unexpected difficulties.

First, we had to decide – “For whom are we doing this? Is it for the artists, to gain them some exposure and maybe even some consideration from the vinyl manufacturers? Is it for the manufacturers, to help them gauge the tastes of their clientele?” Ultimately however, we decided that our audience in doing this were you, the Vinyl Pulse readers – to expose the VP readership to these artists, some of whom may be unfamiliar, and to allow the readers to provide feedback on what they would like to see. Answering this broad question of our goal led to some more pragmatic decisions --

We have excluded artists who:

Are not living. (Although another poll some day among deceased masters might be fun – Bosch and Picasso and Durer and … !)

Have already done substantial work in vinyl. This was a bitch of a rule to apply – Where and how do you draw this line? We ended up including, for example, Kristian Olson while excluding Scott Musgrove. This rule still eliminated a lot of artists we’d love to see more vinyl from, like Scott Musgrove and Glenn Barr.

Are unlikely to ever work in vinyl. (Another rule that turned out to be far easier to state than to apply.) Some artists we thought were simply ‘too big’ to begin working in vinyl at this stage of their careers (though Ryden’s planned piece makes us look blissfully forward to the day when no artist could be thought ‘too big’ to work in vinyl), for a couple of others we did a tiny bit of research and found that they would not be interested. Even though this poll is intended for the enjoyment of the VP readers rather than as market research for toy development, we nonetheless thought it made sense to exclude artists who were not likely ever to fulfill the readers’ wishes. Be aware however, that we have not confirmed with these ten artists that they would have any interest in working in vinyl (indeed mostly we have not contacted the artists at all – their participation in this poll is wholly involuntary).

We hope you enjoy the poll; we certainly had a blast putting it together. We started by assembling a list of possible artists, and only realized after we’d accumulated 216 names what a Herculean task this would be. Narrowing it down from 216 was not easy … and, by the time we had to cull the last few dozen ‘semifinalists’ down to these ten, every single cut was painful. Finally, our most heartfelt apologies for and to all the many immensely talented artists who were cut or missed entirely – this process was necessarily subjective. We have tried to offer a relatively broad variety of artistic styles, so you won’t see four different graff guys or a half-dozen modern surrealists here (although this also required some brutal cuts). The ten artists are presented in no particular order, and when the poll begins, it will include links back to each profile so it will be easy to check any that you may miss during the next two weeks.

So, enough with the drivel, let’s get to the fun part already: Here’s the Art …

Kristian Olson grew up in Orange County, California. He was a fairly decent kid whose major shortcomings were a love of illegal fireworks and a strong habit of doodling in class. Although he could never figure out a way to produce his own pyrotechnic devices on the cheap to turn a profit, he was able to turn his doodling addiction into a career as an illustrator and fine artist.

After studying design at the University of California at Los Angeles, and an eight year career as a freelance graphic designer, Olson has returned to his first love. With only three years under his belt as a professional artist his work has been accepted into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual twice (America's largest illustration competition), Canada's Applied Arts Photography and Illustration Annual, and 3x3's illustration annual. He has also been featured as a spotlight artist in MacUser, Computer Arts, and Taxi Design. In 2006 he was chosen as the cover artist for The Graphic Artists' Guild's Directory of Illustration #23.

Alongside Olson's intricate style of illustration he has also developed a mixed media technique for his personal and experimental work, which he is now showing in galleries. Combining elaborately designed digital artwork, giclée printing and acrylic paint, he creates otherworldly entities and structures that beg for exploration.